Shown here is the cover of the "Kids Count Data Book," released this week by the Annie E. Casey Foundation. The report shows a significant drop in the California teen birth rate, but local advocates are concerned that the progress will be lost after funding cuts to prevention programs. For the full report, visit: http://www.aecf.org/resources/the-2014-kids-count-data-book

California's teen birth rate has declined 63 percent since 1990, the biggest drop of any state in the nation, according to the "Kids Count Data Book" released this week by the Annie E. Casey Foundation.

When the organization began compiling and releasing data 25 years ago, the state had 71 births per 1,000 females ages 15 to 19. In 2012, the most recent year for which data is available, California had 26 births per 1,000 females in the same age range. Here in Humboldt County, the rate is even lower than the state average, at 24 births per 1,000.

A lot of work remains to be done, however, as the report also ranks the state as 40th out of 50 in children's overall well-being, based on indicators like economics, education, health, family and community. California was 26th in health, 39th in education, 43rd in family and community, and 48th in economic well-being. (To view and download the full report, visit: http://www.aecf.org/resources/the-2014-kids-count-data-book.)

Wendy Rowan, executive director of First 5 Humboldt (http://humkids.org), said that while advocates are "always happy when the teen birth rate goes down," many of the programs and initiatives that helped contribute to the improvement have had their funding cut during the economic recession of the past several years, becoming victims of their own success.

"For a number of years, Humboldt County had robust teen pregnancy prevention programs ? but they lost all that funding at the end of 2011 during the era of the fiscal crisis," Rowan said. "We're still seeing the impacts and effects of programs that are no longer in place, so we're very concerned that we're going to see the teen birth rate start going up again."

Jessica Mindnich, director of research for Children Now (http://childrennow.org), an Oakland-based organization that works with the Annie E. Casey Foundation to disseminate the "Kids Count" reports, said that the numbers show children in Humboldt County are "faring slightly better than the state average" on several indicators — teen birth rates, children living in single-parent families, high school graduation rates and average birth weight — but that they're more likely to live in poverty, with 28 percent coming from low-income homes as opposed to 24 percent at the state level.

"But we want much more for our kids than 'slightly better than average' in a state ranked 40th out of 50," she said. "Poverty is such a key indicator for risks to children's health, education and safety. The higher that percentage, the more alarming it is."

Mindnich said that while California's educational system in the 1970s was one of the best in the country, it has been "chronically underfunded" for the past 40 years, with funding levels well below the national average.

"We're ranked 11th nationwide in state and local revenue, but we're 36th in education spending, even when we look at it prior to adjusting for the cost of living. When that's taken into account, we're much closer to the bottom," she said.

"It's no surprise that we're seeing kids falling behind academically. Where you invest your money is where you see progress. ? We need to make sure that our investments match what we say our priorities are. ? We're trying to lead a children's movement in California, and we've brought together more than a thousand organizations and thousands of individuals to tell policy makers that children need to be a priority. We're making sure that kids have a voice in Sacramento, because they don't vote and there aren't a lot of lobbying dollars devoted to their interests."

Beth Chaton, coordinator of after school programs and Redwood EdVentures for the Humboldt County Office of Education, said that "parents need much more support and education about what it takes to parent. It's something anybody is allowed to do without a license or certificate or education, yet it's one of the most important jobs on the planet. ? Parenting is hard work, especially if you're busy just trying to survive. ? I think it's everyone's responsibility to make sure young people have a solid connection to their communities and to school. We need to help provide them with many opportunities to explore who they are and where they're going."

Rowan emphasized that the issues "are very complex," and that many of the problems are intergenerational.

"'First 5' commissions are very much a part of this larger social movement that's about making a greater investment in young children and their families," she said. "Basically, for the fundamental reason that it's within those first five years of life that 90 percent of the brain is wired, and that predicts the future success and well-being of the child. But in our country as a whole and in California specifically, we have not made the investments in the early years to the extent that is needed to achieve health and success for young children," she said.

Estimating that it "will probably take another generation" before politicians fully recognize the importance of increasing investment in children, Rowan said, "From my perspective, it's a very difficult thing because the kids born today don't get to wait until the adults in the governance system figure out how to better support them."

Rowan cited research that shows a much greater return on investment when money is spent to support young people as they develop, compared to the current system of spending much more to deal with the consequences of a lack of support — including high rates of incarceration, welfare dependence and loss of economic productivity.

Chaton touched on that point as well, saying that "each teen birth costs about $4,000 per year for the life of the child, in a variety of related costs. For every dollar spent on family planning, education and early childhood programs, we're saving multiple dollars further down the road. ? This is everybody's problem."

Mindnich agreed, saying that the issue isn't just economic.

"Economically, it makes sense to invest early when the rate of return is much higher, and politically, it makes sense because we want a state full of engaged citizens who are actively participating in their communities and government," she said. "We need to make sure that children are educated, safe, and entering adulthood with all that they need to survive and be anything they want to be."

After all, Rowan said, no one exists in isolation, and the choices we make as a society now have far-reaching implications for the future.

"We're all in this together. ? That 2-year-old sitting on a couch right now could someday be an emergency room nurse or a fireman, so we need to think about how capable we want them to be," she said. "Human beings need each other ? and the capacity of future citizens to be productive members of their communities is dependent on how healthy and successful all of our children are. This matters to everybody, maybe not immediately, but it matters."

The opening lines of the Kids Count report sum up its argument:

"As a nation, we are obsessed with data and indicators when it comes to the economy. We track the gross domestic product, the Consumer Price Index, unemployment, inventories, housing starts, interest rates and so on. We monitor these numbers because they are critical to understanding where our economy is heading, and because we want to be able to respond forcefully if the numbers signal developing problems. We should be equally, if not more, concerned about the data that tell us how our children are doing: The well-being of our country's children is the most important indicator of our long-term economic and social future."